Steam-turbine.



No. 659,930. Pafented Oct. l6, I900. D KEMBLE STEAM TURBINE.

(Application filed Nov. 17, 1898.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

(No Model.)

, KQ IVHHI lll ll. lll [LL HM il ll. '1 ill M ATTEST INVENTFDFE-LQWJMIGAMU 11v Arr? No. 659,930. Patented Oct. l6, I900. D. KEMBLE.

STEAM TURBINE.

(Application filed Nov. 17, 1898.)

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

(No Model.)

INVENTDFF. Q01. 1M

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fh: TEST rm: NORRIS vzTERs co, movommm msummon. n cy I Nirh ramps DUSTONKEMBLE, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

STEAM- -TURBINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 659,930, dated October16, 1900.

Application filed November 1'7, 1898. derial No. 696,686. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, DUsToN KEMBLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Cleveland, in the county of Ouyahoga and State of Ohio, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Steam-Turbines; and I dodeclare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description ofthe invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which itappertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to improvements in steam-turbines,and the theoryupon which the construction and operation proceed and are practicallyworked out by me may be stated as follows: First, any jet or current ofsteam when passing through a pipe or other channel from a boiler intothe open air, or even into a condenser, if it encounters any obstacle,as a plug or even a thin vane of wood or metal,will press against thatobstacle or vane with a force in proportion to the amount or angle ofobstruction and the strength of resistance opposed by the obstructionsto the passage of the steam. If the resistance of the obstacle isgreater than the total pressure of the steam in the channel, the steamwill be turned aside unless the channel is completely closed, when thesteam will be wholly stopped from passing. If the channel is not closedso as to cut off completely any portion of the steam, the latter willcontinue on its course with some loss of pressure, caused by thedetention in striking against the obstacle which remains in its way; butif the resistance of the obstacle or vane is only just sufficient toretain the original pressure of the steam while the vane itself is beingpushed along with nearly the same rate of speed at which the steam ismoving through the channel then nearly the whole pressure of the steamis utilized in thus driving the vane before it. Although this may bedifficult to realize with a single vane, yet with a series of vanes, andstill more if the fixed portion of the channel itself be so turned as tobring the same current of steam in successive impacts against the onecontinuous series of vanes, the resistance may be so adjusted to thepressure that the vanes will be driven along continuously with a forcenearly equal to the steam-pressure which is thereby utilized in work.However, it may be that in practice only a part of the initial pressureof the steam will thus be utilized in work on account of back pressurein portions of the channel still to be considered. It now the nextportion of the channel be enlarged as to its sectional area and thenumber or size of the vanes in this new part of the channel be enlargedto correspond with said change in the channehthen we shall have a wideror thicker current of steam at a lower unit of pressure acting upon alarger area of vane-surface by free expansion in the newly-acquiredspace of the wider channel the same as in the second or third cylindersof a compound piston-engine. Thus this process of repeated impact andrepeated enlargements of the channel for steam and of the vane areas maygo on until the full expansion force of the steam is utilized.

Now, having reference more particularly to the construction of theinvention whereby the foregoing theory is rendered practical, referencemay be had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a sideelevation of my new and improved turbine, partof the casing at the frontbeing broken away to disclose the internal construction. Fig. 2 is across-section on line 2 2, Fig. 1, looking down and disregarding thesegmental character of the line on which the view is taken and giving itthe appearance of a straight line, so as to clearly disclose theconstruction and arrangement of the parts. Fig. 3.is a vertical centralsectional elevation of the turbine on line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a sideelevation of a modification of theinvention, showing a compound turbinewith gear and pipe connections between its members, as hereinafter fullydescribed.

The construction shown in the foregoing views consists, primarily, ofthe central rotating or revolving disk A, which has about its peripherya series of radial vanes a of uniform size and spacing and extendingacross the edge of the disk from side to side thereof B and 0 representthe two sections of the casing for disk A, one of which preferably hasthe base 0 cast integral therewith, and the same section in thisinstance has a circular recess or cavity in its inner side of a depth toaccommodate the disk A, and the other sec tion 13 is placed on theopposite side of disk thereof, and, if necessary, may be packed toprevent possible leakageas shown, for example, at (t or at some otherplace, as may be found desirable. Each casing-section is shown here asconstructed with an arm b and 0 respectively, in the upper portions ofwhich are-formed bearings for the shaft D. The said shaft is splined orotherwise secured in the hub of disk or wheel A, so as to turntherewith, and is provided with a pulley d or gear or other means formaking power connections. One of the casing-sections, and in thisinstance the rear section 0, which is formed with the base 0, isprovided with two elbows or short pipes 2 and 3 at its top andconstituting the inlet and exhaust ports, respectively, for the steam.If desired, however, these ports might be on opposite sides and sectionsof the casing. Connected with each of said ports and extending entirelyaround within the casing from port to port is the sinuous or wavychannel for the steam (seen in cross-section in Fig. 2) formed in partby the reversely-curved so-called ducts 5 in the casing-sections B and Oopposite the vanes a-that is, the ducts 5 and the space between thevanes or together constitute the entire channel or sinuous passage forthe steam and in a sense also the duct for the steam; but forconvenience and clearness of description the portions of the passage inthe casing alone and outside of the vanes will be referred to as theducts 5. These ducts are so constructed and arranged in respect to eachother that each one except the first and last ones in the seriesoverlaps the ends of the two opposite ones in the opposite. section orplate of the casing or, to express it differently, so that two on oneside terminate at a point near or directly opposite the middle of theopposite duct. These ducts are also made comparatively shallow and withgradually-decreasing depth from the center to. each end and are curvedin such a way as to make an angle with the vanes at both their ends.This produces such sinuosity in the channel that it traverses the vanesback and forth from side to side alternately in the direction of traveland utilizes both the direct and expansive force of the steam to thevery best possible advantage for propelling the wheel.

The ducts 5 on both sides of the casing may be made of uniform size andshape throughout the entire circuit of the steamchannel, so as simply tosustain the force of the steam by repeated impact upon the vanes andwithout provision for expansion; but preferably and as shown in Fig. 2the ducts may be varied in length successively, making the first ones tocover a certain number of vanes and the succeeding ones more and more atintervals toward the exhaust. Practically this works out as seen in Fig.2, wherein the steamchannel is gradually enlarged as it crosses thevanes and covers an increasing number of vanes progressively. Thus atthe extreme right there are three vanes open at both sides in thesteam-channel, while at the next two crossings there are four in each,and in the fourth crossing there are five. This or any other preferredratio of increase may be adopt= ed to give the desired room for thesteam to work also by expansion; but, if preferred, the same exposuremay be maintained at all the crossings, as already described. It will ofcourse be understood that the ducts 5 correspond in width to the depthof the vanes a and may be rounded or angular in cross-section. In thepresent structure they are angular, as seen in Fig. 3, and this is thebetter form.

The disk or wheel A may, if found necessary or desirable, be furnishedwith a tire for strengthening the vanes and protecting them from injury.It may also have any suitablyshaped hub and any arrangement of packingor provision for preventing leakage of steam toward the shaft. Anexample of construction for this purpose is seen in Figs. 1 and 3,

wherein are shown small circular ducts 6 and 7 in both sections of thecasing and having an outlet to the exhaust. A few transverse holes 8 areformed in the disk A opposite these ducts and serve as open passagesfrom one to the other, and thus the steam which may work back to thispoint is trapped and carried olf.

In Fig. 4 I show a compound or doublechambered turbine comprising twoseparate casings E and F and two separate and different disks or wheelsG and H within. On the shafts J and K of these wheels are pinions 9 and10, which are operatively connected by a large gear-wheel L on thepower-shaft N. The main steam-inlet 12 is on casing G and the mainexhaust 13 on casing F, and a pipe M serves to convey the steam from onecasing or section of the machine to the other. Both casings have ducts15 opposite the vanes g and h of the respective wheels corresponding tothe ducts 5 in the other views; but the vanes g and h differ in size orsurface area relatively about as shown, so that while the steam issupposed to operate in the first instance chiefiy by direct impact uponthe vanes 9 it operates both directly and by expansion upon vanes h,since these vanes are materially deeper than vanes g, and there is roomfor expansive action as well by saving the steam to play upon largesurface area at lower pressure. I might of course provide forgradualexpansion in each chamber by progressively enlarging the ducts 15 ineach casing eeaeso a somewhat after the manner in Fig. 2; but in theexample of turbine here shown and described I have compounded thestructure on purpose to get the expansive effect of the steam in thesecond chamber. The two sections of this turbine might be set side byside on the same shaft, if preferred, and their operative connections bematerially varied without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is- 1. A steam-turbine casing consisting of two sidesections provided each with a series of opposite curved depressionshaving smooth surfaces and arranged in respect to each other to form asinuous circular channel for the steam, in combination with a singlewheel having on its periphery a series of radial vanes extending intosaid channel, the curved depressions constituting the channel being ofsuch length as to each cover a series of said vanes, substantially asdescribed.

2. The turbine-casing having a sinuous circular channel for the steamformed by a series of complementary ducts in both sides of the casing,said ducts curved lengthwise and each overlapping the ends of twoopposite ducts, so as to carry the steam around in a circle, and a wheelin the casing having vanes running in said channel, said ducts havingsuch length as to overlap a series of the said vanes both at theirentrance to the duct and at their exit therefrom, substantially asdescribed.

3. A steam-turbine casing having two sides and a series of ductssuccessively in each side curved in the direction of their length andarranged successively to form a sinuous circular channel, in combinationwith a single disk-shaped Wheel having a series of radiallydisposedvanes on its periphery the full width of the wheel and the full depth ofthe said channel, the length of curvature of the said ducts constitutingthe steam-channel being such that at each point where the steamtraverses the periphery of the Wheel it will strike a series of thevanes, substantially as de-' DUSTON KEM BLE.

Witnesses:

H. T. FISHER, R. B. MOSER.

